Secrets Revealed
by Sunnygrl
Summary: In my first HoND fanfic, it's been a year since Frollo has died and Phoebus and Esmeralda are now engaged. On the weekend that Phoebus takes his fiance home to meet his family, the ex-captain is given some shocking news that will forever change his life-a
1. Default Chapter

"Secrets Revealed" Prologue  
  
Written by: Erin  
  
"Do you think your family will like me, Phoebus?" The dark-haired gypsy questioned nervously as she twirled a strand of hair around her index finger. Her stomach was tied in knots as the carriage carrying her and her fiance neared closer and closer to the house where they would be staying for the weekend, "What if when they find out I'm a gypsy, I'll get kicked out of the house? What if they don't like my outfit? What if-"  
  
"Esmeralda, relex, sweetie!" The blond ex-captain of the guard chuckled as he loosened the strand of hair from her hair, "They'll love you just as much as Quasi and I do. You're beautiful, intelligant, you've got a kick-butt goat...What's not to love?" He shot a wink at her as she narrowed her eyes at him in a mock dirty look. Laughing, he pinched her cheek lightly and continued, "You're so cute when you get angry, you know that, Esme?"  
  
"All right, all right," With a roll of her eyes, Esmeralda then turned serious again, "Seriously though! I want to make a good impression on your parents; we're getting married in just a few months anyways and I'm nervous about what they're going to say about me being a gypsy and all. You know what Frollo was like-"  
  
"Esmeralda, let's not even MENTION that name, okay?" Phoebus grimaced as he laced his fingers into hers and squeezed tightly, "It only brings back bad memories, for all of us...but it has been a year and we've got to move on with our lives."  
  
Sighing softly, Esmeralda returned the hand squeezed and looked into her beloved fiance's eyes, "I'm still worried about Quasi, though, Phoebus. He's moved on with his life, he's free and all, but I can still see that loneliness whenever we talk. He doesn't say it, but I know how much he wishes he had family..."  
  
"We're his family, Es," Phoebus reminded her, "His mother was a gypsy, and so that makes him part gypsy himself. And you gypsies are family, am I right?"  
  
Smiling sadly, Esmeralda nodded her head just as the carriage pulled up in front of a small, one story cottage. The place was a modest looking home, with a beautiful garden planted out front and several trails lead from the back yard into the woods. There were no other homes nearby, which gave the area a safe feeling to Esmeralda. Turning back to Phoebus, she asked, "Now what were you saying about your parents liking me or not?"  
  
"Uncle Phoebus! Uncle Phoebus!" A high chirpy voice greeted the duo as they stepped inside of the house. Turning to his right, Phoebus laughed out loud as his nephew came hurdling towards him and nearly knocking him off his feet, "You're back!"  
  
"That I am, Zach; that I am," Phoebus lifted the boy high up in the air before setting him down just as several members of his family came into the front hall from the kitchen.  
  
"Hey little brother!" A beautiful looking woman who looked slightly older then Phoebus, with hair the color of fire. Watching off to the side, Esmeralda smiled as the woman hurried over to her brother and planted a large kiss on his cheek, "What took you so long to get here?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Sasha? I'm on time, you're the one who never keeps track of the time," Phoebus winked at her before turning with smiles to his mother, who was heading towards him with open arms, "Hello, mother. It's been way too long."  
  
"So is this the lovely lady you wanted us to meet, Phoebs?" Sasha nodded towards Esmeralda, who was still watching silently, yet nervously.  
  
Groaning at the nickname his sister dubbed him when they were children, Phoebus finally pulled away from his mother's grasp and moved towards his fiance, "Yes, this is Esmeralda. I already told you in the letter I sent a few weeks ago that we're getting married, but I really wanted you to meet her and get to know each other before the wedding."  
  
"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Esmeralda. I'm Maggie, Phoebus' mother," The older woman smiled and reached a hand out to shake the gypsy's hand, "And this is Sasha, my oldest daughter and her little boy Zach." Maggie nodded over to the hyper youngster who was clinging tightly to Phoebus' hand and trying to pull him away from the group to the other room.  
  
Lifting an eyebrow slightly at his family, Phoebus asked, "Uh, mom...where's dad? And Peter? I thought they'd be here to meet Esme."  
  
"Oh sweetie, your father had to work overtime again," Maggie sighed and rolled her eyes skyward."  
  
"And Peter had to stay home with the baby," Sasha added, referring to their newborn child, "Andie's sick with the flu, but Peter insisted Zach and I go."  
  
Clapping her hands together to turn everyone's attention back to her, Maggie smiled broadly and gestured towards the kitchen, "Well, let's not wait any longer; dinner's just about ready and we don't want a cold meal now, do we?" As Sasha led Esmeralda towards the kitchen with Zach in tow, Maggie all of a sudden grabbed a hold of Phoebus' arm and brought him to a halt before he could enter as well, "Phoebus, wait. Hold on a minute."  
  
Turning with curiosity towards his mother, who's expression suddenly turned to one of nervousness, "Is something wrong, mom?" He frowned at the look in her eyes. He rarely ever saw that look before, but when he did it was never good news.  
  
Sighing again, Maggie looked down at the floor before turning her eyes to look into her youngest son's face, "Phoebus, I was really surprised when you wanted to get together after these last few years, but belive me, I'm glad you got a hold of us. Because there's something I've been meaning to tell you for some time now..."  
  
His eyebrows furrowing together at thos words, the ex-captain tilted his head to the side, "Oh?"  
  
"Come talk with me immediately after dinner, darling," She concluded, "I cannot keep this inside of me any longer, especially after this past year." Still seeing his confusion and wanting to ask another question, Maggie lifted a finger to his lips to silence him, "Just come to me after we eat; I'll explain everything to you then."  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Secrets Revealed Chapter 1

"Secrets Revealed" Chapter 1  
  
Written by: Erin  
  
With a small smile at her son, Maggie started to head off into the kitchen but was stopped as Phoebus gently grasped her arm, "Mother, what aren't you telling me?" He pleaded, concern filling his being.  
  
"After supper, Phoebus," His mother repeated, shooting a pointed look his direction before nodding towards the kitchen, "We don't want to keep Esmeralda and the others waiting. I really would like to learn more about this woman you're marrying; after all, she is going to be my daughter-in-law." Without further comment, Maggie retreated back into the kitchen, Phoebus reluctantly following.  
  
The others were already gathered around the small kitchen table, Esmeralda and Sasha engaged in deep conversation. The gypsy didn't even notice Phoebus enter and sit down on her other side until he reached for her hand, "Hey sweetie," He greeted her, kissing her hand gently.  
  
"What took you so long?" Esmeralda questioned.  
  
"My mother just wanted to talk to me for a moment, that's all. She has something important to tell me after supper," A frown creased his brow as he shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea what it could be."  
  
"So tell me, Esmeralda," Maggie started as she took everyone's plates and started dishing up the food, "Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Who are your parents? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"  
  
"Mother, please, one question at a time!" Phoebus interrupted with a laugh, rolling his eyes.  
  
Smiling, a blush rising slightly to her cheeks, Maggie said, "My apologies, dear." She then faced the gypsy again, the questions that she had asked still showing plainly in her dark eyes.  
  
Clearing her throat, Esmeralda wrung her hands nervously underneath the table, suddenly feeling that nervousness all over again, "Well, Mrs. de Chateaupers-"  
  
"Call me Maggie, please," The older woman interrupted, ignoring the slight roll of Phoebus' eyes.  
  
Blushing, Esmeralda continued, "Uh, Maggie...both of my parents passed away when I was very little." She lowered her eyes down to the table, "I barely even remember them. All I remember is being told by my aunt and uncle that mommy and daddy were never coming back. They-they were murdered."  
  
Phoebus paled slightly as his fiance recalled this memory; he remembered that she had only talked about this once since they had met, and he had decided then never to ask her to talk about her parents or other family members again. Glancing over at her, the ex-captain noticed that still appeared quite uncomfortable reliving this and Phoebus wished that he could change the subject. But before he could say anything, Sasha piped up.  
  
"How about your name? It's so unique, yet beautiful at the same time," The woman winked at the gypsy, which caused Esmeralda to finally smile again.  
  
"Thank you. I was actually named after my great grandmother; it was passed along to me. Plus..." Here it was, the moment of truth. Looking at Phoebus for guidance, she watched as he nodded his head in reassurance, urging her to continue, "It seemed like the name for a gypsy, and since I am one..." Her face turned red as she lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Phoebus' families' reactions to this bit of news.  
  
"A...gypsy?" Maggie choked on her food and set down her fork with a clang, "You're a gypsy, Esmeralda?" She looked like she was about to say something more until she saw the dirty look Phoebus was giving her, "Well! Now that's something new..." Not knowing what else to say then, Maggie shook her head and pushed back her chair, "Will you excuse me for a few minutes?" Without waiting for a reply, she rose from her seat and headed straight into the living room.  
  
Having a feeling that her sudden departure had to do with Esmeralda and her gypsy heritage, Phoebus excused himself as well and followed his mother, shutting the door behind him, "All right, mom, would you please just explain to me what that was about? Yes, Esme is a gypsy, but I've gotten to know her as a person, and she's really a wonderful woman-"  
  
"That's not the reason, and don't talk to me in that tone, young man," Maggie scolded from where she sat on the chair in the corner of the room.  
  
"Then why are you suddenly acting so...weird?"  
  
The room was silent for a few tense moments as Phoebus stood on one side of the room and his mother sat on the other. Finally, Maggie rose to move to the couch and patted the space next to her, "I think I should tell you, Phoebus."  
  
Phoebus chose not to say anything, his eyes staring straight into his mother's dark ones.  
  
"Phoebus, do you ever remember me telling you years ago about my older sister? Your aunt?" Maggie began, her voice serious.  
  
Confused as ever now, Phoebus nodded, "Yes, you told me that she died before I was even born. What does she have to do with anything?"  
  
"Darling, there's something that I never told you," Maggie lowered her eyes to her hands and figited with her long skirt, "I would have to be a complete idiot not to know what had been going on in Paris this past year. Frollo, the mysterious bellringer, the burning of the city..."  
  
"That 'mysterious bellringer' happens to have a name, you know," Phoebus lifted an eyebrow, "And you should know that he happens to be a good friend of mine and Esmeralda's." He noticed a look of brief shock cross his mother's face before it disappeared and was replaced with another look he couldn't read.  
  
"Phoebus, it's time for you to know the truth, and nothing but the truth," Maggie quietly continued, her voice so low Phoebus could barely hear her, "I knew Frollo personally, my son. Both me and my sister. In fact...she was murdered; but I was never there with her when it happened. I actually disappeared not long after she gave birth to her child..."  
  
"What are you talking about, mom? I don't have any cousins, just a nephew."  
  
"Let me finish, Phoebus; I have to tell you this," Maggie's voice was starting to grow desperate a she continued, "You don't know this, but my sister was a gypsy herself, and she was running from Frollo himself at that time. Once she gave birth to her son...after I took a look at him and saw all those deformities...I told her I could no longer be with her and left. Not long after, I got the word that she was killed on the steps of a church. I don't know if it was Frollo or not, but I have a strong feeling it was, even to this day."  
  
"What?" Phoebus was starting to grow sick to his stomach as she was starting to put the pieces of this puzzle together.  
  
"It was years later when I was in Paris that I overheard all these people talking about the mysterious, deformed bellringer of Notre Dame. They called him 'the hunchback', even they had never seen his face. I knew just then that this boy, Quasimodo I think his name is...was my sister's little boy." Tears started to threaten Maggie's eyes as she looked into her son's now pale face, "The bellringer is your cousin, Phoebus."  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Secrets Revealed Chapter 2

"Secrets Revealed" Chapter 2  
  
Written by: Erin  
  
Phoebus felt like somebody had punched him in the gut when he heard the words that came out of his own mother's mouth. He opened his mouth to reply, but for the first time, nothing came out. His face went through many different emotions throughout the next few seconds: surprise, a bit of happiness, and then finally anger. Anger at his mother, his flesh and blood.  
  
"Phobus, just say something, please," Maggie pleaded, her eyes brimming with tears at the anger she saw on his handsome face.  
  
"How could you keep a secret such as this from me all my life?" He finally snapped, suddenly realizing that his mother was holding his hand and he yanked it away, "It would have been a little different if you mentioned that I had a long- lost cousin, but to find out that a FRIEND of mine, who has been to hell and back his whole life, is actually a member of my family..."  
  
"Will you please just let me explain why I kept this from you? I seriously thought I was doing the right thing. I thought that it would be better if you never knew about him, after seeing that child as an infant-"  
  
"But you never got a chance to know him, mother," Phoebus angrily glared, "He's Esmeralda's best friend; and not only did he save her life more then once, but mine and the entire city of Paris last year! Just tell me one thing, would you have still kept this from me if I had not written you that letter?"  
  
Maggie was speachless as she contemplated that question. Would she have told him the truth? The answer came as a shock to her, but she finally, reluctantly, shook her head, "No, Phoebus. I would not have."  
  
Shaking his own head in disbelief, the ex-soldier rose from his seat and stared down at the woman who had bore him, "I should have known." He started to turn away and head back towards the kitchen when his mother's pleading voice sounded behind him.  
  
"Phoebus, don't go, please! Just sit back down and talk with me!"  
  
"What else is there to talk about? You already admited that you've lied to me all my life. What else do you want to say? That I have another brother or sister?" Phoebus snapped, turning around and folding his arms.  
  
The tears starting to slowly roll down her face, Maggie tried once again, "Please, just sit down." When her son stubbornly stood in his place, the woman sighed heavily and reluctantly nodded, excepting that it was no use, "Then just hear me out."  
  
Silence followed once more until Phoebus answered, "I'm listening."  
  
"Darling, this was 20 years ago, and I was prejudice back then. More then I am now, even though I wish I wasn't. When your friend the bellringer-uh, Quasimodo, was born to my sister, the first thing that came to my mind was that I didn't want to be in that creature's life. When I found out that my sister had died trying to save him, I took off and it wasn't until after Quasimodo was made bellringer of Notre Dame that I realized that this young man was my sister's child, and was being taken care of by Judge Claude Frollo. I just couldn't bring myself to reveal who I was, even after all the stories I heard about him, and even after I heard about what happened last year. You know how word spreads around here."  
  
"And yet, you still wouldn't tell me the truth if I had not gotten a hold of you," Phoebus stated, his eyes narrowing, "Gosh, mother, you're just as bad as the rest of the town was when Quasi first stepped foot out of that tower! Only this time, one of those people is his own aunt. I think I've heard enough." Turning back around, Phoebus headed back towards the door.  
  
"Y-You're not leaving, are you?" Maggie uttered weakly.  
  
"After I inform Esmeralda of this, we're out of here." He curtly replied, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Surprised and confused that Phoebus never returned to the dinner table, Esmeralda excused herself and went in search for him. The house wasn't all that big, so it didn't take long before the gypsy girl found her fiance sitting by himself in his old bedroom, apparently deep in thought. He looked so upset and disappointed at the same time that Esmeralda could only wonder what had happened between him and his mother moments ago.  
  
"What happeend?" She asked without knocking on the door, as it was wide open. Glad that he didn't appear shocked to see her and happy when he grinned slightly at her, Phoebus moved over on his bed to make room for her. As she sat down, Esmeralda looked deep into his face, questions in her beautiful green eyes.  
  
"I don't even know where to begin, Esme," He shook his head, gazing up at the ceiling, "Gosh, where do I start?"  
  
"Just tell me then," She answered simply with a shrug of her shoulders, winking at him.  
  
"It's not that easy, Esmeralda, although I wish it was," With a sigh, he turned her way, complete trust in his eyes towards her, "I'm about to tell you something, and it's going to come as a complete shock to you. I'm still trying to get over it myself; I just can't face my mother again until after I tell you and until I make sense of all this..." Noticing that her silence meant for him to continue, Phoebus drew in a long breath and let it out slowly, "First of all, my mother has nothing against gypsies, thank God. That wasn't why she left like she did. The reason was...she told me that she had a secret she had kept from me my entire life."  
  
"Phoebus, please, just get to the point," Esmeralda started to grow impatient, wanting just to know why her beloved was acting the way he was.  
  
"You know how Quasi found out just before Frollo's death that his mother died trying to save him?" Esmeralda nodded, "Um...my mother knew Quasi's mother." As his future wife raised an eyebrow, Phoebus concluded, "She was her sister."  
  
Slowly putting two and two together, Esmeralda raised a hand to her mouth and finally whispered, "Quasi's...Quasi's your COUSIN?" As Phoebus nodded her head, Esmeralda became utterly speachless, which was a new thing for her. Her best friend was her fiance's cousin? Maggie was Quasi's aunt, and she had never told him until now?  
  
"What are you thinking, Esme?" Phoebus' voice was suddenly filled with more emotion then he had ever thought possible, "I need to know what you're thinking."  
  
Blinking back tears from her eyes as this sunk into her head, the gypsy whispered shakily, "You have got to tell him, Phoebus. You have got to tell Quasi the truth, that's all I can say."  
  
His eyes widening in shock, Phoebus cried out, "But HOW? What am I supposed to say? 'Oh Quasi, I forgot to tell you. I'm your cousin, and my mother is your aunt.' What's he going to think when he finds out a member of his family is someone he sees every day?"  
  
"You can't keep it from him," Esmeralda firmly stated, a roughness appearing in her voice that he remembered back when they first met, "Either you tell him, or I will. Quasi has always been honest with us, and it's our turn to be honest with him. After all he's done for us, this is the least we can do to reunite him with a few members of his family..."  
  
"My mother doesn't want to see him, Esme!" Phoebus stated.  
  
"Did she tell you that in those exact words?" She shot back, her eyes narrowing, "Or are you just assuming?"  
  
"It's totally obvious after the way she talked about him back there," He replied, growing agitated. He knew his mother better then Sasha, and he could read her like a book.  
  
Sighing, Esmeralda shook her head and looked down at her hands, "Look, Phoebus. He doesn't have to meet her yet, but he already knows you. For God's sake, you're one of his closest friends! You know how much he has been longing for a family, and when he finds out that you're one of them..." Tears started to spring to her eyes just then, "That would just make his day, Phoebus, I just know it." Feeling uncomfortable with the silence that was coming from her fiance, she continued, "You know how much I love you, and how much I love Quasi like anyone would love their best friend. But if you don't tell him this, I can't marry you."  
  
To be continued... 


End file.
